OUR PREVENTION APPROACH

No mass disorder afflicting mankind is ever brought under control or eliminated by attempts at treating the individual.

-Dr. G. Albee, Editor
Journal of Primary Prevention

Primary prevention is a proven, effective strategy that can address a range of health and social issues, including widespread youth violence, skyrocketing medical costs, epidemic chronic illnesses, and the ever-expanding gap between rich and poor. These widespread and complex issues demand comprehensive strategies that maximize the benefits of prevention, and have the greatest chance for success.

Because complex problems cannot be solved with simplistic solutions, we must move beyond the notion of prevention as just an educational message, to the implementation of a multifaceted approach that incorporates both individual behavior and social norms. The emphasis in prevention should not be placed on a message, but on a strategy.

Prevention has a demonstrated track record and can be even more effective, but its practice must be central, not tangential. We need a systematic approach to prevention that synthesizes and strengthens knowledge from multiple disciplines, and emphasizes primary prevention as key in addressing major societal concerns. Prevention Institute is fostering the development and application of this emerging approach. Prevention Institute believes that:

• Health is more than healthcare or the absence of injury or disease
• The environment in which we live profoundly shapes our health and well-being
• Injury and disease are not inevitable; they have root causes that can be addressed
• Prevention requires commitment and dedication
• Prevention offers hope by saving lives, money, and misery

To achieve our objectives, Prevention Institute works to:

• Systematize prevention as a distinct discipline
• Apply a comprehensive strategy across diverse disciplines and issues
• Build a movement for social norms and systems level changes
• Advocate for solutions that concurrently impact multiple problems
• Research, synthesize, and disseminate information that builds on successes
• Inspire a broad vision and fresh approach that incorporates a variety of strategies
• Be responsive to, and reflective of, community needs
• Integrate a community and policy orientation into prevention practice
• Tailor to specific needs among culturally diverse communities
• Train the next generation of leaders in primary prevention
• Expand the field by encouraging new participants, dialog, and explorations

Putting Prevention at the Center of Community Well Being
www.preventioninstitute.org